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Do they ever stop being distractable?

My lo is 8.5 months. He has been distractable since 4 months. It's getting more and more difficult to nurse him in public. A nursing cover used to be all it needs to NIP. But now he will refuse to nurse when he's not at home. He will be very busy looking around and hates being under the cover (and he obviously is hungry!). For the few seconds that he is willing to latch on, he will tug at the cover, pull it off, and just plain monkeying around. Only a quiet nursing room will get him to nurse but I fear this will soon fail to be a solution. When we do nurse at home, the slightest sound of voices, movement, new music playing in the background will stop him in his tracks. Arrrgh surely by now he should realise its ok to not look around for just a few minutes to nurse? I love our nursing relationship. But it feels like he's just not interested!

Re: Do they ever stop being distractable?

My LO is the same age as yours. Totally normal to be distractible - there's just so much of interest out there! I don't think there's much you can do except trying to be in a quiet, boring space (with nobody else around). When baby is hungry enough, he'll eat. I've found that if my LO doesn't nurse much during the day, she'll make up for it night. Maybe not my preferred solution but I figure she's going to wake up at night anyway so if she nurses well at that time, she's getting the milk she needs.

Re: Do they ever stop being distractable?

My baby is almost 10 months and just starting to get back into an interest in nursing. She too, had been very distractable for a long time, and yes, nursing in the dark stopped working! What I had to do was just be VERY insistent that she latched. She would pull away and look around many times before finally settling down to nurse. This doesn't work very well in public mind you, but by insisting she nursed at home, she has gotten a little better in public too. Here is my advice: When it is time to nurse, take him into the nursery, but instead of darkening it right away, let him play for a few minutes and then get in the nursing chair with him and read a book to him. When the book is finished, THEN turn out the light and try nursing. Once they have object permanence, they KNOW what is in the room when the lights are out, and they want at it. This works pretty well with my daughter, but there is usually still a few minute process of her latching for a second, unlatching and looking around etc. As for nursing in public, try standing an swaying. I know it may be a little awkward to do if you are in a restaurant or something but it WORKS. We went to the coast a few weeks ago with my MIL and my daughter would NOT nurse at dinner. Finally I went and stood int he entryway of the restaurant, held her and rocked and she nursed beautifully. I don't do this every time though because I don't want to set a precident. Some times I am just ok with her not nursing in public. If I am out all day, I use my standing tactic, otherwise I wait til we get home.

Re: Do they ever stop being distractable?

Originally Posted by @llli*minigingerbread

My lo is 8.5 months. He has been distractable since 4 months. It's getting more and more difficult to nurse him in public. A nursing cover used to be all it needs to NIP. But now he will refuse to nurse when he's not at home. He will be very busy looking around and hates being under the cover (and he obviously is hungry!). For the few seconds that he is willing to latch on, he will tug at the cover, pull it off, and just plain monkeying around. Only a quiet nursing room will get him to nurse but I fear this will soon fail to be a solution. When we do nurse at home, the slightest sound of voices, movement, new music playing in the background will stop him in his tracks. Arrrgh surely by now he should realise its ok to not look around for just a few minutes to nurse? I love our nursing relationship. But it feels like he's just not interested!

AH! THIS!
i'm there with you. family members have insisted that she is self weaning because of this. she is 7.5 mos old! WTH!?
my husband even stands up in another room and she can hear it. she stops, looks around, sits up... jeez!